The Need
In the local 4-county service area, there are nearly 350,000 people with disabilities.6
- Over 200,000 have an employment disability
- 37% are unemployed
- 20% of those have mental retardation
Disability rates are expected to continue to rise among the general population.1 1 in 10 families in the United States is affected by mental retardation.6
The mean age of death for persons with intellectual disabilities or developmental disabilities rose from 19 years during the 1930s to 66 years in 1993, an increase of 247%.2
The Impact
An estimated 60% of persons with developmental disabilities live with family caregivers, and 25% of these caregivers are age 60 and older stretching state service-delivery systems well beyond their capacities to meet current and projected demands for residential, vocational, and family support services for individuals with developmental disabilities.1
The unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities in the four county service area is 5 to 7 times greater than for the non-disabled depending on the disability type and severity. Only 25% work year round and full time.3 3 times as mane people with disabilities live in poverty.4
Individuals with disabilities face critical disadvantages.4
- 22% of individuals with disabilities who are employed reported encountering job discrimination
- People with disabilities are twice as likely to drop out of high school and to have inadequate transportation, and are less likely to socialize, eat out, or attend religious services
- Individuals with severe disabilities have the most difficulty obtaining independent living skills, including social, academic, behavioral management and job skills.
The Cost
Government expenditures to support working age people with disabilities and their dependents under programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) have risen at twice the rate of other spending.2
The average lifetime cost of care of a person with a developmental disability is over $1 million (2003 dollars).5
1 Texas Department on Aging and the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities. Aging with Developmental Disabilities: The Texas Project. Austin, TX: July 2001.
2 Janicki, M.P., Dalton, A.J., Henderson, C.M., & Davidson, P.W. 1999. Mortality and morbidity among older adults with intellectual disability: Health services considerations. Disability and Rehabilitation, 21, 284-294.
3 Census 2000 Disability Data for Dallas, Collin, Denton and Rockwall
4 2004 Harris Poll of Americans with Disabilities
5 Center of Disease Control and Prevention
6 2008 United Way Community Needs Assessment
